All Policy Analysis by دنیس راس

Qassam rocket strikes from Hamas-controlled Gaza -- recently amplified by longer-range Iranian-made Grad rockets -- continue to rain down on Israeli civilian targets, triggering military retaliations. What is Hamas's strategy, toward both Israel and the ordinary Palestinians under its own rule in Gaza? What is the nature and outcome of

When President Bush assumed office, Iran was not a nuclear power. When his successor takes the oath of office next year, however, Iran will have achieved (or be on the verge of achieving) that status. Nothing the Bush Administration or the international community is doing now is likely to alter

Senator John McCain often attacks the two Democratic presidential front-runners for their soft stance on Iraq. "Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will withdraw our force from Iraq based on an arbitrary timetable designed for the sake of political expediency," he recently said, "which recklessly ignores the profound human calamity and

Yale University's journal of politics, The Politic, interviewed Institute counselor and Ziegler distinguished fellow Dennis Ross for its February 17 issue. Avi Kupfer conducted the interview. From your experience of over twenty years as a diplomat, how would you characterize the approach each administration took regarding the threat of terrorism

In the wake of Hamas blowing up the border fence between Egypt and Gaza the images of Palestinians from Gaza streaming across the border into Egypt were unsettling to the Israelis, Egyptians, Palestinian Authority, and Bush Administration. Only Hamas benefited from the images. In breaking down the wall sealing the

To: President George W. Bush From: Dennis Ross Subject: This week's visit with the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority Mr. President, no doubt you have received many briefings on this topic, but having negotiated with everybody you will be seeing this week and having just returned from the area

The National Intelligence Estimate on Iran presents an interesting paradox: Though almost certainly the product of rigorous assessment and questioning, it may actually leave us less secure over time. How can such an improved product of spycraft have such a negative effect? It can when it frames the issue mistakenly

The Annapolis meeting was an impressive event. It brought nearly fifty nations together ostensibly in support of Arab-Israeli peace. While the Syrians came to emphasize their agenda on the Golan Heights, the other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, came in response to an American invitation to resume the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

Rarely have we faced more daunting problems in the Middle east and seemed farther away from resolving or even defusing them. There is surely no more important foreign-policy priority than finding ways to ameliorate the challenges and conflicts that confront us in the region. This won't be done with slogans

Today, the United States will convene a large international gathering to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. With this, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has followed through on her commitment, made early this year, to help usher in a time of peace for these two historic enemies. Originally, she intended for them to

Today, nearly 50 nations and organizations will convene in Annapolis, Md., to talk, in theory, about support for Israeli-Palestinian peace. I say in theory because the Syrian deputy foreign minister, for example, will have a different agenda -- an agenda related to the Syrians' insistence that only a "comprehensive settlement,"

Just days before President George W. Bush hosted a Middle East peace "meeting" in Annapolis intended to provide new impetus for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Washington Institute held a special policy forum with David Makovsky and Dennis Ross to assess the evolution of the Annapolis summit

If there is one thing that Iraq does not need, it is additional sources of conflict and instability. Right now, the only part of Iraq that is stable and shows prospects o developing economically and politically is the Kurdish areas of the north. Though no without challenges, especially given the

Secretary of State Rice is again shuttling back and forth to the Middle East, with plans to convene an international meeting in Annapolis later this month with the Israelis, Palestinians and leaders from a number of Arab countries. Her aim is to have the participants endorse a joint statement on

From "Mission Accomplished" to his September trip to Anbar province, President Bush has excelled at stagecraft when it comes to Iraq. Pulling rabbits out of hats and waving scarves like a diplomatic David Copperfield, he has staged events and shaped imagery to build support for his strategies, while undercutting his